


The Councilor's Treasonous Trysts

by Gelato_Meltato



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: War for Cybertron
Genre: Age of Rust, Angst, Cybertronian politics, Eventual Romance, F/M, Femme Centric Fic, covenant of primus, pre-Great War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 04:16:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11729322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gelato_Meltato/pseuds/Gelato_Meltato
Summary: Elita One of Praxus has served alongside her fellow Councilors since the Age of Wrath, faithfully following the regulations that have allowed her to implement solutions. But, after Councilor Soundwave addresses the High Council on their inaction in the rise of crimes and arrests being committed in lower-caste districts, she begins to notice that something is amiss. However, instead of throwing away her position as he did, she continues to operate within the Council, but, this time, with a different goal and a single conspirator on her side.(Note: this story is heavily based off of events described in the Covenant of Primus, where both Elita One and Soundwave are Councilors.)





	1. Cruel Misinterpretation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nitrobot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nitrobot/gifts).



> A late birthday gift for Nitrostation! We were throwing ideas back and forth and I managed to pull something through from them.
> 
> Though it looks like a one-shot for now, I hope to be able to continue on it in the near future, especially with the role I plan on giving Elita One and another certain someone coming along.

Not a single bot dared to interject as the typically well-mannered Soundwave of Crystal City, Representative of Megatronus Prime, confronted the gathering of the elected Prime, archivist Alpha Trion, and fellow Councilors, facemask drawn back as he hurled accusation after accusation at them.

“I won’t stand here pretending to be better than those laboring in the mines and the smeltyards.” He directed a piercing glare at Sentinel Zeta Prime, the crimson glow from his visor intensifying as a terse grimace formed on his mouth. 

“You stand for nothing now, Sentinel, except death. What is the point of your _existence_?”

The Prime’s jawplate tightened as gasps and the sound of a shattering datapad filled the Council Chambers. His optics narrowing as a silent warning that the Councilor was crossing the fine line of threatening him with treason. 

Yet, Soundwave continued with a near deafening shout, “And you…”

Elita One of Praxus was the very first Councilor his gaze locked onto. The horrified Representative of Solus Prime stiffened as the Energon in her cables froze. Never had she seen him so impassioned, so determined to have his voice heard.

Like a mech possessed by the wrath of the very namesake of his title, he seemed ready to tear at their throats. The femme averted her optics and remained silent, hoping that, by not inciting him further, he would cease his unusual behavior.

To her dismay, he turned to Councilor Ratbat, then Halogen, then Contrail, moving down the line of nerve-wracked, confused, and seething Councilors as he yelled at each and every one of them, “You wait and make excuses and do nothing to kick his useless tailpipe.”

Sentinel immediately shot up from his seat to stop him, but Soundwave would not let him speak.

“The system is your tyrant. You are weak. You are pathetic.”

He paused his tirade for a moment to take a long vent and muttered, “It shames me to sit here and listen to your self-justifying prattle month on month. You have had several kilocycles and this is all you have managed? Tell me, _what will we do_?”

As soon as the question hung in the air, the twelve addressed Councilors spoke at once.

“How… how fragging dare you tell a Prime-”

“-absolutely no shame at all. You might as well be a pit spawned, lower caste-”

“-please, Soundwave, understand we cannot act without a better understanding of the-”

“-personally can’t wait to oversee your execution after this-”

“-should have stayed home this solar cycle-“

“-and I am not to be spoken to in this manner!”

Alpha Trion kept a low helm while he quietly tuned out the consensus of outrage. Sentinel, now seated back in his place before the indignant Councilor, gave no discernable reaction, rigid faceplate set in a forced neutral expression.

Not even half a klick passed before he finally moved, slamming a large fist against his left armrest.

” _Silence!_ I demand that everyone begin acting their age in stellar cycles effectively!”

The collective quieted down, looking away from Councilor Soundwave as they heeded the Prime’s command.

By contrast, Sentinel had optics locked onto the intelligence expert’s broad warframe and a servo clenched tightly by his side. ”Your little outburst is costing us the precious time you so value, Soundwave. So you had better have some consideration for the unproductive interruption you caused.”

”As if I needed to speak to waste time in these chambers,” he snapped back just as viciously. “You’re all already doing a good enough job without me as an uncaring oligarchy.”

Sets of marching footsteps echoed from outside and the doors flew open as five Elite Guard members arrived to apprehend the uncooperative individual. Soundwave glanced to them and grit his denta before bringing his mouthguard up to cover his face.

”I will not be leaving without answers, Sentinel.”

The acting Prime’s trigger finger itched, but he knew that, in the presence of Alpha Trion, there was nothing he could do that wouldn’t go down directly to the Hall of Records.

”Fine, we’ll go by your rules, Councilor.” Sentinel turned to the twelve other Councilors. “We will be taking this matter in typical fashion. Elita One, may you please start us off?”

The rosy pink femme gave a short nod of acknowledgement and, gathering her notes, stood up from her seat and read from her datapad. “From what I understand, the instances from the crime waves sweeping across the city-states have experienced an increase of 8.3% across the board in the troubled districts of Kaon, Slaughter City, and Tarn while there has been a decrease in centers of commerce after the full-time implementation of several competent Enforcer Division in each of them. Moving the more experienced of the Division to these districts may quell the outbreaks.”

She glanced up at the Councilor’s stoic form as she nervously flipped to a separate topic. “Ah- if I recall, you had mentioned the possible violations of civil rights in these so called ‘gladiator pits’? I understand these are recreational and private businesses, so under our penal code, we do not have the right to investigate their operations closely without a warrant. We can do the research and begin make requests for warrants as of this instant, but they may take orns to be processed.”

With a small smile, she added, “I’d be more than happy to put in the request for you, if you so wish.”

Soundwave silently regarded this information while he kept his full attention squarely on her. Elita quickly tore her optics away from him and shakily placed her datapad down once she realized he wouldn’t be giving her the usual feedback.

She slowly plopped herself down as Halogen took his items and rose to give his points.

//

Just as Ratbat wrapped up his last sentence, the lone dissident spoke after having witnessed all twelve testimonies without so much as a word of malice or agreement to his peers.

”Research, reports…” He murmured, his intense glare on Elita for a split nanoklik before returning back to Sentinel. “I am through talking to you. Everything falls on deaf audials. There is no point in speeches.”

Soundwave reached for the left side of his chest, for the lapel with the gilded Council badge. “Only actions count.”

He tore it off his person and, as if he couldn’t bear to have it a moment longer, flung it away from him. The golden symbol status arched in the air before clattering on the Chamber’s floor in front of the High Council Leader.

And, with that, he stormed off, past the five Guards who were expecting some sort of resistance, opening the large entryway doors for himself and exiting as they closed behind him with a loud whump.

In utter shock at the impulsive decision, Elita stared at entrance and blinked just as the room broke out in chaos once more.

//

After Soundwave’s departure, the High Council could no longer maintain itself in order as nearly everyone ignored agenda items. As is the case, Sentinel dismissed everyone a joor early, expecting things to go back to normal business within the next session.

While the other mechs headed toward their respective homes or to Maccadam’s to drown their frustrations, Elita went to the only tranquil place left that she could turn to within this unfamiliar city.

It was a lonely walk through the High Council Pavilions to get to the Stellar Gallery. It was approaching closing time for most of the businesses in the Pavilions, so the open air walkways and passages were largely devoid of any life besides the automated security drones.

Finding a bench next to a long, concrete trough of flowing oil, she lay down, resting her helm on one end while placing her pedes up on the other end. Her optics gazed up at the stained glass dome high above her, the late afternoon light still filtering through and casting everything inside the Gallery in a soft golden light.

Her processor went back to today’s disaster of a session, the memory of Soundwave’s opposition to the very system still shaking her to the core.

If she had been any other complicit higher-caste scholar, she would have dismissed all the warning bells his speech had as fear toward him violently acting out his aggressions.

But Elita didn’t get a coveted position on the council, especially for those of Solus Prime's direct lineage, by remaining closeminded to both sides of an issue. And she never forgot the history he had with the High Council.

Soundwave had always been there to provide his full services to their people. Back when he first added into the Council after Sentinel was elected, he was a strong believer in dismantling the imposed caste system that came as a result of the Quintesson intervention.

She had worked alongside him during their plan to expose the Quintessons for the slavemasters and deceivers they really were. A successful effort that resulted in an all-out war with the alien emissaries led by Commander Ultra Magnus and an Iaconian archivist…

She couldn’t quite remember the mech’s designation, but the red and blue grounder was often referred to as the “librarian” of the group of Cybertronian freedom fighters.

Their activities during that fateful period under Quintesson rule used to involve late-night, covert sessions in the chambers when surveillance befell under Soundwave’s jurisdiction. The two of them, the other Councilors, Sentinel Zeta, and Alpha Trion would spend nearly whole solar cycles discussing how to best go about revealing the truth about the T-cog, as well as tactics to take down a much more advanced race with connections to nearly every aspect of Cybertron’s infrastructure, society, and economy.

She particularly remembered being by his side when he sent out that fateful live transmission to all channels on the surface, the excitement rushing through her younger self’s cables as she saw an empire crumble nearly overnight.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the High Council’s attempt at managing "Situation Absolute".

Her vision slowly blurred as her optics welled up with warm coolant. She sat up and curled her legs inward. Wiping tears away before she began sobbing again after spending a stellar cycle in mourning, she forced her processor to think of anything but the silence that now filled the interplanetary communications relay stations and the parasitic nanobot infestation that took so many lives.

”Councilor Elita One?”

She looked up from her pedes and met that red visor. He seemed to be caught in midstride, a case in one hand and his cirkitten walking alongside him. Ravage turned around just as his master did, tail whipping around Soundwave’s leg as he glanced up curiously at the Councilor seated across from them.

“Coun- Soundwave,” her vocalizer crackled with static as she nearly slipped up on his designation. A fact that she would also have to learn to get used to.

”What has you in such a state like this?” He slowly approached her, Ravage slinking closely behind. “I wouldn’t have thought that you would miss me this dearly already.”

She scooted aside as her lips flitted with a sad smile. ”No, it isn’t quite that,” she finally said once she was sure she wouldn’t be croaking through her speech. “I couldn’t help but remember the last time the Chambers were in such a mess…”

He needed no further explanation as he took the empty spot next to her and nodded. “Yes, the very first instance where our _inaction_ cost us dearly.”

”Don’t say it,” Elita replied with a heavy melancholic pain in her spark. “You read those reports. Nothing aside from intensive electromagnetic treatments was capable of slowing the pandemic’s progression. Even then, that wasn’t enough to ensure a decrease in the mortality rate.“

Ravage leapt onto his’s lap and the ex-Councilor reached over to pet his helm. ”I was convinced that, once again, Shockwave would have been several steps ahead of us and already devised some method to combat the Rust Plague. He would be one to spare his own plating without regard to those of his kind.” Meeting her tearful gaze, he added, “Unfortunately, that coward of a Council Leader acted in haste before I could even determine what other secrets that mad scientist was keeping from us.”

”Sentinel ordered those Space Bridges to be shut down to save us.”

Soundwave’s voice neared monotonous as he stopped rubbing his journey companion’s pointed audials. ”Do you truly believe that?”

”I-” Elita’s mouth gaped open as she processed the new information he presented her. The thought that such a tragedy could have been prevented was too much for her. Her chest collapsed as she put servos against leaking optics. “Dear Primus, what have we done?”

”This was an error that is irreversible, Councilor," He told her matter-of-factly. "If we could go back to fix our errors, prevent these past misfortunes…” With a bit of humor in his voice, he said, “Well, we wouldn’t exactly be here, recognizing the mistake.”

He took on a much more serious look as he stared straight forward into the empty space before them. ”I would have not come to the realization of the inherent injustices that our Council is responsible for. You don’t understand, the things I’ve witnessed while remaining vigil over those district-” His vocalizer dropped nearly an octave as he whispered, “They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but seeing several Data Canisters worth of videos of lower caste bots being exploited for our benefit…”

She wrapped her arms around her upper frame while Ravage, starved for attention, rubbed his helm against her waist and began to purr contentedly.

Soundwave turned to her once more. ”That is why I can no longer remain in this position. Not knowing all this. I must understand what these mechs and femmes endure in order to truly say I represent them and, to do that, I must distance myself from my precious standing as their oppressor.”

She silently contemplated for several nanokliks while she stroked a few digits against Ravage’s neck and back. ”I respect your decision. But I don’t believe we are the oppressors you say we are. We both fought against real invaders, those who were willing to sell us like slaves. How can you compares the High Council to them?”

”What the lower castes currently face is the same product in a different packaging. They are considered expendable to those of your status, just as we were with the Quintessons.” With a disappointed sigh, he added, “I thought you would have seen that, at least.”

”It is not of my intention to subjugate,” she said with an arched optic ridge. “I am on the Council to speak for my people, in particular a 'minority' within our population. No femme, whatever function they have, is expendable in my eyes.”

”Surely. But what of the mechs that toil alongside them in the mines and refineries, working in dangerous conditions? Are they just another disposable resource to you?”

”Soundwave-”

”Why do you have to go and parrot such things?” He hissed under his breath, “This is exactly what each and every one of those damned Councilors would tell me. They say they speak for their people’s best interests, but, when one is asked how willing he is to bring programs and resources to help move those from a lower caste up-”

”Soundwave!” she yelped, tears now streaming down her optics. Her sudden yell startled Ravage so much that he immediately bound off from them, running through the circular pathways in the dome.

”What about me saying it isn’t my intention has you thinking that I purposefully try not to make measures to give assistance? I will admit, I don’t quite understand their situation in my position of privilege, but I am willing to listen.”

”Then come with me,” he blurted, quickly taking a loose hold of her left servo. “Let me show you what you have been blind to this whole time.”

Elita’s spark nearly jumped out of her throat the moment she felt those long digits wrap around her smaller ones. Still, she didn’t jerk her arm away as she said, “But how will I be able to accomplish anything for them if I am lowered to the same status, as unheard as they are?”

His voice softened significantly behind his mouthguard. ”It will not matter, Elita. Once you see the need for a revolution, you will also see the potential to have it come to fruition without having to jump hoops through this worthless bureaucracy.”

She placed her right servo over the caging digits holding her left one in place and slowly parted them. ”I- I can’t. There’s so much more that I’ve been able to do as a Councilor than I could ever hope to accomplish as a regional politician. If I stay, I have more power to take action.”

”As if you would ever do so!” He shoved himself away from her, gesturing at her as he sneered, “Just as you have with the Rust Plague, you will only continue to nod to whatever Zeta put forth. You yourself are not only part of the problem, but are enslaved by it. What a cycle that is!”

Her optics flew wide open at that and she stood to meet him, but he halted her with a flattened servo.

”I genuinely believed you were different, but it seems that all your time among mechs without principles have corrupted you." His voice grated as he added, "And yet… _I can’t bear to hate you_.”

”I-” She didn’t even get to finish before he walked away from her.

”Wait! Please! Soundwave!” She called out to him as she ran after him

He completely ignored her cries to him as he expertly navigated through the corridors of the Pavillions. Once she lost sight of him, she gave up the chase and, in the middle of a lonely hallway, finally letting go of the flood of sorrow she had been holding back.


	2. Dangerous Distractions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, guess this is what happens when school comes in and kicks you in the aft.
> 
> Nevertheless, I'm not about to abandon this, nor the other moonceptor story. Just gotta wait a bit until I have more free time.
> 
> Hope this is still enough until we continue on the rest of Elita's journey! Oh, and as always, this is still taking canon from the Covenant of Primus, though I'm filling in the blanks for some items.

Sentinel officially cut his losses after Soundwave was absent two sessions in a row. It seemed that, even with the ex-Senator’s inflammatory exit from the Chambers, he still held out on the hope that, just as he did in the past, Soundwave would stick around to continue with his duties.

With only Twelve of his original assembly left, the acting Prime quickly made arrangements to fill in the slot with someone of his choosing. Though an election should have taken place in order to introduce a representative chosen by the people for the people, he was intent on having it so that he could seamlessly add an individual that he was certain would not create further division.

He was fortunate to have found someone almost immediately. Blaster, a mech who hailed from prestigious intelligence circles that Soundwave had inspired, was recommended for the position and accepted the offer the solar cycle after it was presented to him.

Elita would have normally been against such practice, given that she herself fought to be elected in to her position. But she was all too aware of the fragility of the position now that Soundwave showed controversial thoughts toward the Council's actions.

If she or any of the other High Councilors so much as said something that went against Sentinel’s practices, they could risk impeachment.

Of course, he would never threaten it. Not with Iacon’s Master Archivist standing by in each of their sessions. But it was an unstated rule in this new Council and, by Primus almighty, did no Representative of the Primes want an early dismissal.

She remained attentive at this third session, up until her gaze floated over to the seat of the new Representative of Megatronus Prime, a short red mech with a drooped helm carefully balanced on two steadied servos, looking as though he wished to be anywhere else but in these Chambers.

She almost wanted to go over and slap the boredom out of his faceplates. How could someone at such an advantageous position in their government come in with no desire to contribute?!

Her optics wandered over to the other Councilors to have something to compare with, but as she gazed at each and every one of them, she made a horrific realization.

They weren’t even tuning their audials in to the addendum!

Ratbat seemed preoccupied with preening his metallic feathers as silently as he could. Halogen was much too engrossed in a personal datapad for it to have been their list of items.

Slag, even Contrail was twirling a stylus in one servo while he mindlessly traced the edges of his copy of the cycle’s agenda with his other servo.

Her plane of vision darted to the last Councilor, the Representative of Onyx Prime, who was… staring at her with those dark crimson optics of his.

They shone brighter as Tarantulas winked and blew a kiss in her direction.

She could barely contain her fury as she tore away from those- strangely hypnotic orbs of light- instead wondering how anyone, with the riots going on right outside their inner circle, could act as though everything was as it was in the Golden Age?

_How in Primus’s name could they even recharge at night?!_

Elita One didn’t try to continue following along with Sentinel as he prattled on and on about issues that they could have solved megacycles prior had they given as much effort as they had with the Quintessons.

Soundwave was right. The High Councilors were all talk and no action. They truly didn’t care enough about their fellow bots to lift so much as a digit towards approving assistance programs.

And, no matter how much she would demand for change here, she wouldn’t be able to bring any with the reluctance of her peers to do anything about it.

So, as she stared daggers at the podium speaker, she came to one last conclusion on her standing within the Council.

She still wasn’t willing to give up a place that took nearly half her lifespan to gain entry into. But she would no longer be as passive as she was.

She needed a new perspective. And she needed to find Soundwave to guide her through it.

//

”Alpha Trion?”

She only dared walk up to him after everyone else had left the chambers, as she didn’t want anyone listening in on their conversation. More specifically the request she wanted to make of him.

”Hello Councilor Elita One,” he addressed her with a wizen smile as he put away the Quill and Covenant into his subspace. “It has been so long since we have last spoken. How have you been?”

”I certainly wish things were better.” She didn’t wish to lie to him, especially with what she wanted to ask him.

”Yes, tensions are running quite high,” he replied, that cryptic, but polite expression still on his faceplates. “I haven’t seen everyone so on edge since ‘Absolute’.”

Her vocalizers strained at the mention, so much so that she barely got out, “I had wished, dreamed even, that it wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

”And I hadn’t expected for it to have happened so soon afterwards,” he commented, looking upon the younger femme as he stood up to leave. 

Those youthful, blue optics of hers blinked as she stared at him, completely lost. ”What do you mean by that?”

”Well, understand Elita, it doesn’t take a Covenant to see that there was something amiss this entire time.” He stood by his seat, shoulders hunched with the weight of an unthinkable sorrow. “We were all acting civilly in times of the face of two great disasters. Every single one of us had something at stake.”

”More than we do now?”

”As hard as you may find it to believe, it’s been an ongoing pattern I’ve noticed ever since Sentinel brought us all together. Majority of our Representatives have self-interests outside of what we discuss every session and they find themselves preferring that which is more advantageous.”

Disgust boiled deep in her tank as he explained to her in those vague terms the root of the problem: the selfishness of her peers. Of course that explained why they would all come in disinterested to their gatherings, acting as though they had no duty to those that had allowed them to hold so much power in the first place!

”But it isn’t right!” she mustered out, a blaze burning behind those optics. “Our purpose should be to be there for Cybertron’s citizens, not to be as self-serving as the-”

She faltered off, realizing that Alpha Trion was still hanging to every word she said. Pressing her mouth tightly shut, she cursed herself for having given too much trust to a friend who, incidentally, recorded the entirety of their meetings and was close with Sentinel.

The silence that hung in the desolate chambers for an uncomfortable amount of time was cut short by the _whoosh_ of an unsubspaced item.

A muffled thud echoed and she took a step back as he presented her with a broad, weathered manuscript, looking older that the owner himself. He flipped the cover of the Covenant, going through dozens pages at a time before stopping at a series of short paragraphs and turning it counterclockwise.

Her mouth ran dry as she stared in awe at the relic, having put two and two together to know what he was offering her. Cautiously approaching the open book, she whispered, ”You give me permission to take a look?”

His mouth uplifted slightly, looking melancholic for the offer he was making. “This was the closest entry with any indication of Soundwave. Unfortunately, it seems the Covenant decided on presenting a military field report in a sort of numerical enigma. It’s beyond my level of comprehension, unfortunately.”

She craned her neckcables to peer at the series of phrased, inscribed in neat, mechanical glyphs grouped five at a time.

”How do you know this refers to him?”

”Because only someone as astute as the one who broke through Quintesson communications could have created a code of this caliber.”

Optics darted at the sequence as her processor ingrained the image into her memory circuits. With a terse nod, she reached over to place a servo on Alpha Trion’s arm and gave one last smile.

”Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blaster wasn't referenced as being a councilor, and neither was Tarantulas, but I made it as such because one seemed suitable and the other was a shared headcanon. :^)


End file.
